Saving Lives in Hospitals & Aged Care Homes through Science Based Cleaning

As we wake up each day, we are acutely aware that the world has changed. According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 1.2 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, around 70,000 have died and we could be heading toward 5,000,000- 10,000,000 cases if governments do not implement strategies to reduce the spread. This could mean 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide. 

While the world goes into lockdown, governments and health authorities encourage social distancing, hand washing or sanitizing using alcohol rubs, personal protection masks, adequate sleep, avoidance of anyone with symptoms and cleaning and disinfection of touchpoints in particular mobile phones, keyboards and mouses used continually throughout our day. All these measures are encouraged worldwide to reduce the chance of you picking up the virus and potentially spreading it.

But while your community goes into lockdown, healthcare workers are encouraged to go into battle on the frontlines. They are being sent into Hospitals, buildings that we know have the virus in its patients, in its air, on its surfaces and even in other staff not yet showing symptoms. Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Radiographers, Medical students and also Environmental services staff. 

During the SARS outbreak in 2002, 21% of infected cases were from Healthcare workers (Sepkowitz and Eisenberg, 2005), that could mean for COVID-19 between one and two million infected, and possibly 100,000 deaths. If that doesn’t get you to sit up and listen, then most likely nothing will.

While we distance ourselves from the virus, they are getting closer to it. While we rest 8 hours a night, many of them are lucky to get 4 hours.

They need PPE and they can’t get it, they need to clean some surfaces hourly instead of daily and yet they have no more time to do it. They need more supply of infectious cleaning products and training and yet supplies of both are very limited. 

They should shower before they leave work, not take uniforms home, but in many hospitals, this lack of facilities is causing them to take germs home and put their own families at risk.

In this high-pressure situation, our hospital network is at boiling point and what’s on the inside is now coming out and being noticed. Many, many individuals and teams of healthcare workers are being praised for their heroic actions, teams of cleaners are being clapped at the end of their shift, and the general public is in praise of how our healthcare workers are putting their lives and their families lives on the line. 

But we are also seeing under-resourced departments and a financial culture across health that does not take the lives of our healthcare workers as seriously as they could.

COVID-19 has already shown us that viruses spread when cases are concentrated in cruise ships, hospitals & aged care facilities and that cross-contamination not only occurs through patient to patient contact but also through touching of infected surfaces within a facility and touching your face. 

Clean Hospitals are an essential need for our healthcare workers to survive and be able to save lives. They spend more time at work than at home and if the hospital they work in has viruses in the air, viruses on its surfaces and in its patients, then protective measures need to ensure they don’t end up in their homes.

20 years ago, an international group was formed, and the Clean Hands campaign was born. This widely acclaimed program, led by Prof Didier Pittet of Genève University Hospital is believed to save up to six million lives across the world per year, through simple hand washing and availability of alcohol sanitising stations wherever they are required. This successful campaign has resulted in healthcare workers, patients and visitors now understanding the benefits of a clean hands culture.

Last year, Prof Didier launched Clean Hospitals and plans on doing the same thing when it comes to changing the culture of cleaning and disinfection in Hospitals. Clean hospitals and Clean Hands will protect the lives of our healthcare workers and their families, and in turn, save the lives of many more patients around the world every year.

There is much to be done to ensure our hospitals are clean and safe for our healthcare workers, their families and patients. This group is looking at all aspects like, adequate funding for environmental service departments, universal hospital cleaning standards, systems to program and validate efficiency, quality and efficacy of cleaning and disinfection, training, auditing and more.

Next month many world leaders in environmental services and infection control will come together in a two-day online conference to encourage, resource and teach those managing front line healthcare workers to “save lives through science based cleaning”. For more information visit www.icleanconference.com.au and for more information on P.P.E view our spec sheets here.

Authored by Bill Bassett of iClean 2020 Hospital Cleaning and Disinfection conference.

References

Sepkowitz, K. A. & Eisenberg, L. (2005) Occupational deaths among healthcare workers. Emerging Infectious Disease 11, 1003-1008.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019